In his first fight since defeating Mike Tyson in November, Jake Paul (11-1) will face another former champion many years removed from his prime. This time, Paul’s taking on Julio César Chávez Jr. (54-6-1), Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced Friday. The bout, contested at 200 pounds, will take place June 28 in Anaheim, Calif., and will stream live on pay-per-view via DAZN.
Chávez, the son of boxing legend Julio César Chávez, is 39 years old and 13 years removed from his last world championship. He returned to boxing in July 2024 with a close win over former UFC fighter Uriah Hall, who was making his second boxing appearance. Paul headlined that card, winning against bare-knuckle boxer Mike Perry via technical knockout.
In his prime, Chávez held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012, defending it three times. His most prominent bout came in 2017 against Canelo Alvarez, a one-sided affair Alvarez won in a shutout unanimous decision (120-108, 120-108, 120-108). The showdown between the popular Mexican boxers helped the PPV draw more than 1 million buys on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Paul, 28, will battle Chávez over 10 three-minute rounds after his bout with Tyson was contested over eight rounds at two minutes apiece. Paul has fought 10 rounds once before, when he defeated former UFC contender Nate Diaz via unanimous decision in August 2023.
“I just defeated the baddest man on the planet, and now I’m going against a former champion who conman Canelo couldn’t finish,” Paul said in a release. “Chávez Jr. is Mexican, but I, El Gallo De Dorado, have the will and heart of the great Mexican fighters. … I will knock out Julio and make Chávez Sr. proud in ways Jr. never has.”
Since losing to Tommy Fury via split decision in 2023, Paul has won five straight fights. His victory over Tyson streamed live on Netflix to over 60 million households.
Facing a far slower and far older Tyson, Paul didn’t need to showcase much boxing prowess to score the unanimous decision victory. He spent much of the bout dancing around Tyson, taunting the former champion and keeping him at bay with simple combinations behind a rudimentary jab and the occasional sharp left hook. Tyson landed just 18 punches total.
Rumors of a bout between Paul and Alvarez circulated in February, but fell apart when Alvarez signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season that will pit him against Terence Crawford in a September megafight.
“First of all, I will show what I can do now that everything is in the right place in my life — mentally and physically,” Chávez said in Friday’s announcement. “I feel rejuvenated and 10 years younger. Second, I want to thank MVP for taking the risk of fighting me. Unfortunately for their Problem Child, they’re going to have a big problem this June — one they won’t know how to resolve. Hopefully when I beat him, people won’t underestimate this win.”
In the co-main event to their bout, unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramírez will defend his title against former world champion Yuniel Dorticós.
The Paul-Chávez bout will mark the first of MVP’s two major summer events. The second will be Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor’s trilogy bout in July, which will headline a card in Madison Square Garden and stream live on Netflix.
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)
